HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DWYANE WADE

How the Story Started

Dwyane Wade was born the second of two children to JoLinda and Dwyane Wade Sr. in Chicago, Illinois, on January 17, 1982. His parents separated when he was only four-month-old. To avoid the temptation of drugs and gangs, Tragil, sister of Dwyane Wade, led him to basketball and football after their parents divorced. Dwyane Wade then idolized Michael Jordan and modeled his game after him.

Dwyane Wade played basketball and football for Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn. In college, Wade committed to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his performance during the Midwest Regional final drew national attention. Against a top-seeded Kentucky team, Wade delivered 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, including a memorable breakaway dunk, as Marquette upset the Wildcats, 83–69, and advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. The Golden Eagles finished their season as No.6 in the AP Poll, Marquette's highest ranking since 1976–77. Wade was named the MVP of the Midwest Regional. His performance earned him a high NBA draft projection. As a result, Wade skipped his senior year to enter the 2003 NBA draft. There, Dwyane Wade’s professional basketball career began.

The Man of the Legend

With the 5th pick 2003 draft, the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA Championship and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. 

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring and helped them capture the gold medal.

In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in both total points (2,386) and points per game (30.2), the latter stat earning him his sole NBA scoring title. Wade was selected as the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2010.

With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. Wade briefly left Miami to play for the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout 2016–2018 before returning to Miami to finish his playing career and retire with the Heat in 2019. 

The Heat retired Dwyane Wade’s #3 jersey in 2020. In 2021, Wade purchased a minority ownership stake in the Utah Jazz. In October 2021, Wade was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. 

In 2023, Dwyane Wade was named to the 2023 Class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the Flash, the game changer, the man, and the legend.

Story behind Way of Wade 1 “Birthday”

In celebration of Dwyane Wade’s 42-year-old birthday, Way of Wade Team will release a limited edition of Way of Wade 1 on January 20th, 2024. This Way of Wade 1 not only keeps the original appearance of this series, but is also equipped with modern sneaker technology. It’s designed with elements from former Way of Wade 1 products, while answers the call of evolving continuously and forging for the new.

Upgraded with full-length BOOM midsole for higher responsiveness and better cushioning, Way of Wade 1 “Birthday” provides great support for players to start faster and land safer. The upper is made of leather, with cutouts on vamp and quarter for good breathability. Getting inspiration from birthday cakes, both the upper and the insole are designed with half in white, and another half in colorful patterns. On the upper of left shoe, the gray part represents “Gray Boy”, and the golden part represents “Dynasty”. The red part on the vamp represents the single-color PE version, and the purple part on the left heel comes from “Lavender”. The two strips connecting upper and outsole also hold stories. The black one with white drips comes from “Oreo”, and the yellow-to-orange one comes from “Year of Snake”. On the right shoe, the patterns on the collar lining comes from “Purple Stingray”, and the light orange part on the tip represents the single-color PE version. The strip connecting upper and outsole in black-and-yellow strips comes from “Caution”. Colors of both tongues represents the single-color PE version, and the strip in a shape of forked tongue comes from “Year of Snake”. Block WADE logo is placed on the tongue and eyestay, and the badge on the heel represents D. Wade’s 42-year-old birthday. Just as other products in Way of Wade 1 series, numbers honoring Dwyane Wade’s family are placed on the outsole. But for this one, the outsole Way of Wade logo is displayed with “Birthday” patterns. Its first group of shoe laces are designed in the letter “W”, which stands for Dwyane Wade.